A Youthful Exuberance.

6 Aug 2011. So it’s been a year since my last post! I can’t begin to describe how that happened. I guess in the way I have been erratic in terms of training, I have been erratic in writing and sadly, I am starting to feel it. Anyway, I will leave that to another post.

Cape Town has seen a lot of exciting activity in the last year and a half. We have witnessed the birth of the Cordao de Ouro Academy in Church Street, Cape Town in December 2010 and now we look forward to the 2nd collaborative effort to host the UCT Capoeira Batizado in association with Cordao de Ouro in August 2011. This event will feature Mestre Chicote, who teaches in Paris France and who oversaw the inaugural Cordao de Ouro Batizado, O Nosso Jogo, at the beginning of 2010. The atmosphere is electric at the CDO academy as the students prepare themselves for the upcoming Batizado which will be the 5th UCT Capoeira Batizado since the inaugural ceremony in 2006 which was officiated by Mestre Bogado & Mestre Gigante. It’s also quite significant that UCT Capoeira is now a decade old! And still going strong!

So if we think about it, Capoeira has had a presence at UCT for 10 years. One might ask themselves, who was the first Capoerista at UCT and where are they now? I guess it is fitting to start with that. How did Capoeira come to be at UCT?

The History of UCT Capoeira (2000 – 2001)

Well like most Capoeira students who have come through UCT, it started with a group of passionate people who simply loved to do Capoeira. People might not know, but Abada Capoeira Cape Town and UCT Capoeira share similar roots. A while back, I met one of these Capoeiristas that kick started this whole thing. (He is actually my first teacher, but that is a story for another day). His name is Bheku and I posed this question to him in 2006. “How did UCT Capoeira come to be?” and this is what he had to say.

“… Capoeira at UCT effectively started with a bunch of capoeira mad guys, yours-truly included, that were led by Marcio (Beleza) in 2001. We kinda abused the martial arts section of the sports centre the year before and some people showed interest. I know I got roped into it during the 2000 academic year orientation week and trained at Obz (that is the current Abada class in Observatory) for the whole of 2000. I think it's at the sports centre where we caught the eye of the guy who was to be the chairperson for UCT Capoeira for 2001, sadly I forget his name (his name is . The mad bunch that I was telling you of, Marcio (Beleza), myself, Noor (latina), Michel (Buffalo Preto), Aladin (Yes from Abada), Riaaz and another guy who was an ex-Tae Kwon Do practitioner if I'm not mistaken, other ABADA members from the Cape would join us occasionally (this became roughly the demo team that did various demos around CPT, that's another tale on its own). We would train at UCT in a more 'advanced' class, heavier training, more acrobatics and techniques etc. UCT was the perfect spot and it was good advertising.

By the time we did a demo at UCT, we already had a large group of people from the previous year (2000) who'd seen us train on weekends, and those that were simply blown away by the demo we did during the Orientation Week of 2001. I'm not trying to blow my own horn but people were really impressed and I think for a new martial arts club, we had quite a big following. And soon Saturdays at the UCT Sports Centre were filled with Capoeira enthusiasts who would give up their precious afternoons just to learn more about this Capoeira thing. Of course as some would say, some girls were just there for Marcio (I think that is why they call him Beleza), but that's subject to debate. I know there were a lot of swooning women from all over the world who were falling for Marcio (Maybe Beleza had some potion that he used on girls while playing in the roda) big time, probably more so in the Observatory classes. This didn't change how much we trained though. Especially those of us he considered to be non-beginners. But passion drove us on and we excelled.

Seeing as we were limited to only 1 class on a Saturday, Marcio offered that the UCT students could train at Obz during the week and pay half-price or something like that. Man did both classes (UCT and Obz) get bigger!! We did a lot of demos and soon a few of the more adept UCT students joined the demo team. Through these and other methods, we were able to raise some cash to have the initial ABADA grading session in the middle of that year. That was awesome. Some of the UCT students also managed to get graded. I think you'd have to ask Marcio more details about how the grading came about though. He'd maintained a close relationship with the upper echelons of the ABADA structure. By the time I left at the end of 2001, UCT Capoeria was a thriving club.

The rest I don't know unfortunately. You'll have to dig around but Michel and Marcio would be your best bet for more information.”

Interesting start to it all isn’t it. I dug around a little more and found a little more from the Abada Capoeira Website. Beleza had come to study in South Africa in 1997. Though he had practiced some Capoeira in Luanda, where he is from, Beleza did not find Capoeira in Cape Town. So for the next 2 years, he was a body builder (no wonder the ladies where falling all over him.) However in 1999, the seed was planted when a friend Bufalo Preto, also from Angola, started teaching youth in a park, just for the fun of it. The interest displayed by the youth made them realize that there was a space to start teaching Capoeira in Cape Town. Beleza and Bufalo Preto then met some Swedish Capoeiristas (Billy Boy and Colorido) who were in Cape Town giving Abada Capoeira workshops. This connection would later enable them to form Abada Capoeira, Cape Town.

I guess what I am trying to elude to is that passionate individuals in Cape Town have lead to its spread and is continually driven by passionate individuals. We still see it at UCT today and events such as the upcoming Batizado serve to celebrate this passion and youthful exploits. As we will see in the next post, each era brings with it a new energy and focus. Meanwhile you can see this youthful exuberance yourself…

Uma nova casa de capoeira em Cidade do Cabo

16 March 2010. It’s been a little over 3 weeks since the 1^st Cordao de Ouro batizado, an event that ignited the Capoeira community. Following 2 weeks of teaching from Contra-Mestre Chicote, the event culminated in a final 4 days of workshops and a batizado at the end that included Afro-Dance, Maculele, and loads of Capoeira.

It goes little to say that most capoeiristas have found a ‘home’ for Capoeira, a place where they have the guidance of a teacher, a style they can call their own, a culture they can grow into and a buy-in into a seamless community that continues to extend its borders. To the Capoeirista that was part of UCT Capoeira between 2004 – 2008, they could be been described as the ‘wondering Capoeira nomad’ reliant on the few opportunities a master of Capoeira visited our shores or if they are fortunate enough to travel abroad and experience the numerous established Capoeira communities. For those just starting Capoeira, or are still young in the game, the arrival of the 2 Contra-Mestres is a dream come true to experience some “real authentic Capoeira.”

Drawing from all of this, it remains to be asked, “What does a home of Capoeira look like?” What does it feel like? Is there such a thing as authentic Capoeira? Do we need a teacher to learn Capoeira? What kind of environment fosters the growth and development of Capoeira? Most importantly, how does a seemingly Brazilian Art form integrate with local cultures and communities?

You may be wondering where I am going with all of this? Well, most of my colleagues with whom I used to train with in the past were honoured at the recent batizado and have subscribed to this breakthrough in the Capoeira community. In a discussion some of my colleagues, the prospect of finally obtaining a ‘home’ for this beloved art resonantly rang amongst them. While I always knew that we had lost home years back, I was led to question, what does it take to build a home for Capoeira? Where had we failed? Had we really failed? Or rather had our season passed and a new era is upon us? In that case how do u build a solid foundation for the future of Capoeira?

After brooding over this, I realised the single catalyst and cornerstone of any group leadership. Your teacher, the person that you look up to for inspiration, from whom you seek guidance from. While it is often true that we can teach ourselves anything, we will still need to engage with a teacher, a mentor or a guide to teach, provide guidance or facilitate learning. Before the academy days, it was common that a person would watch a roda in session and would pull away to the side and attempt to copy the movements that they saw. They would be extremely fortunate should a virtuoso come to assist them. It is also true that a teacher, guide etc has a threshold in what they can teach you, at which point the student either advances to another teacher or decides to take discipleship of the art-form and adapts his/her teachings to their perspective. Most schools recognise this and usually that is the point an individual is conferred with the title Contra-Mestre.

Unfortunately or rather fortunately, it is not simple to attain such status. It is clearly hard work and dedication is required to achieve and maintain such a level. Based on this very argument, the development of as many Capoeiristas as possible is the most important priority. Amongst the masses that will be taught will emerge those that have the will to continue with the work of Capoeira. Having a home and a reference point at which to nurture talent is thus advantageous to this end.

UCT Capoeira had this formula one point and Abada Capoeira has this formula the group continually has momentum with an annual Batizado that allows a constant reference point to a ‘source.’

At UCT Capoeira the annual cycle of new leadership makes it difficult to have a continual agenda. However it provides a structure which feeds the greater Capoeira system. In that regard, it fulfils its purpose of opening the minds of the masses to the existence of Capoeira amongst themselves.

It’s funny though how the lessons of Capoeira hold true in our daily walk. Always adapting, always changing form, Capoeira was and is merely evolving to suit the current environment. This also holds true in Cape Town and the arrival of the Contra-Mestres has opened a new era of Capoeira in southern Africa that adds a new dynamic to this space.

As such, the Batizado did not just christen individuals into Capoeira and acknowledge the advancement of others. It christened a new era of Capoeira in CPT.

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